User Reviews

Reviews by WesWes:

4/5 rDev +2%look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer pours a pitch black color with a thick frothy tan head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a complex scent that boasts of black malts, juniper berries, hops, and yeast. It's earthy with a mild hop bitterness and a touch of juniper fruitiness. The taste is good as well. It has excellent hop character that's bitter as hell and quite citrusy. The malt bill provides adequate balance and it's own amount of earthy bitterness. The juniper berries only add another layer of complexity, softening the hop bite and adding a touch of fruitiness. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a full bodied beer with good carbonation. This is a damn good beer. It's more complex than your average black IPA as well as being more accessible for non hop heads.

More User Reviews:

8%ABV.Winter Warmer..uh nope.This American Black ale infused with juniper poured near pitch black except for a ruby tinge when held right up to the light,a 1/2 finger off white head atop.Piney hop and more piney hop in the nose,unsweetened chocolate really comes thru as well,the juniper gives off a similar pine aroma but it stands out from the hops.Earthy tones and unsweetened chocolate set the table for the beer,pine resin as well as a light pine cone note.This is a cool beer, highly hopped and "dark" tasting,as I drink more a French roast coffee flavor really lingers,I like it alot because of its complexity.

The beer pours a dark brown to black color with a tan head. The aroma is heavy on the roasted malt and chocolate with some juniper and resiny pine notes mixed in. The flavor is more of the same. I get a lot of chocolate and bitter roasted malt, as well as some pine and juniper notes. Low to medium bitterness. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Overall: While pretty good overall, I am going to go old school and rate this metric on drinkability. While interesting, the juniper is more of a distraction than an asset, especially on the aftertaste. Still, must give some credit for this experiment, which some may enjoy immensely.

pours out pretty much completely opaque black with a nice thick 1 1/2 fingers of khaki colored head that eventually settled to a thin retentive layer which is easily roused by a light swirl. some sporadic sticky lace all over.

not much juniper in the aroma, maybe a slight fruitiness. mostly roasted malt mingling with pine and citrus hops. alcohol is evident, but nothing overpowering.

not a whole lot of the juniper berries at first. a slight woody/ herbal fruitiness comes in the more it warms, but the taste is mostly roasted malt with pine and citrus hops in the finish. lots of lingering bitterness in the finish as well, which im assuming some comes from the juniper berries.

medium bodied, a nice carbonation for the style. creamy and smooth feeling with a palate impacting lingering bitterness.

overall: a super drinkable beer. not super complex, but lots of hops and slight nuances of juniper make for a great beer. id buy this again if SN made it avilable on its own in 6 packs.

Roasted malt and piney, floral hops combine for a strong and unique aroma. There's some chocolate scent and just the slightest hint of sweet berry. I've certainly never smelled anything like it. It seems like a hoppy stout with just a touch of sweet fruit added. Interesting.

More piney hops in the flavor than I would have gathered from the aroma alone. Although it's full of flavor, it's actually incredibly well balanced by strong roasted malt and coffee flavors. I don't taste much, if any, juniper berry.

Rich, relatively heavy mouthfeel. But it feels like a Sierra Nevada beer, and that is always a good thing.

A unique and interesting stout/black IPA/porter hybrid. A lot of interesting flavors and a wonderful beer, but not one I could drink a lot of.

Wow, winter warmer? This is a straight black ale if you ask me. Pours black, big tan head coming out of it. Great aroma, bitter, pine, hoppy, and juniper more than a nuance (although I've had it after some hoppy beers that make the juniper a little tougher to detect). Trees.

Taste, bitter, but roasty, taste profile of a stout at times, but the viscosity of a black ale/ipa. Bitter juniper mouthfeel. Hides the alcohol quite well. Dry.

Appears a dark roastd malted barley with a light tan head forming thick, the body has ruby brown highlights when held toward the light. Head leaves behind chunky bands of lacing. Aroma has herbal highlights with an earthy air of juniper additions, herbal pine mix of hops very nice smelling stuff with dark roasted malts this maybe the beer that actually makes it into produection. No offense but this kicks their Porter, and Stouts ass. Creamy dark chocolate flavor with piney/herbal hop bitterness blending together with a dry dark coffee finish. I've really enjoyed the Best of Beer Camp 2011 release this is #16 and I can't wait to see more of these exciting mixed 12 packs with different more experimental styles than their mainstream offerings. Mouthfeel finishes dry with dark malted barley bitterness, medium to fuller bodied even carbonation going on. Overall I think I said it best when I think this beer will make it into production.

T - plenty of hop flavor as well as medium and dark roasted malts. A bit herbal and earthy. An odd bitter finish with notes of coffee, reflecting the mix of hops, juniper and, perhaps malts. Rather strong flavor which, with the evergreen component, approaches the challenging level.

M - medium body with good carbonation but a small bite in the semi-dry finish.

O - This Black IPA may work best if treated as a Imp. stout or a winter warmer, but it worked fine for me at the end of this exceptionally hot day.

Bottle from the mixed 12-pack purchased from Green’s on Ponce in Atlanta.

Pours black with a tan head leaving solid lacing.

Smells of smooth roasted malts with good amounts of unsweetened chocolate with hints of citrus hops and lighter hints of herbal juniper.

Tastes similar to how it smells, though not quite as robust. Robust roasted malt flavors up front are quickly tempered by semi-sweet chocolate. The citrus and pine hops and juniper hit their stride midway through, carrying through to a solidly bitter ending. Mouthfeel is very good, with smooth carbonation.

Overall this was different than I was expecting, with the juniper playing a small part and the roasted influence stronger than I was expecting. A solid beer that’s worth a shot.

T: Lots of roasted malt character join espresso bean, char, smoke, and grapefruit. The finish is very bitter with a mix of grapefruit, juniper, and smoke that lingers on the tongue.

M: On the heavy side of medium bodied and dry.

O: American Black Ales should have a strong hop profile, and Sierra Nevada delivers in this ale: It is very bitter. However, this beer also has a lot of darker stout characteristics: lots of smoke and roasted malt. Because the beer is on the heavier side and is bitter, it is not a beer to be consumed in multiples if one is not a hop head.